Ördög (''Ürdüng'' in Old Hungarian and equivalent to ''

Erlik Erlik, Erlig, Erlik Khan, Erleg or Yerleg (Hungarian mythology equivalent to '' Ördög'') is the god of death and the underworld, sometimes referred to as ''Tamag'' (hell) in Turkic mythology. ''Er'' (or ''yer'') means ''Earth'', in the dept ...

'' in Turkic mythology) is a shape-shifting, demonic creature from

Hungarian mythology Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians, also known as the Magyarok. Sources of knowledge Much of Magyar mythology is believed to be lost. However, in the last hundred years scholars o ...

and early Hungarian paganism who controls the dark and evil forces of the world. After Christianization, it was identified with the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

. It is often said in Hungarian mythology that God (''Isten'' in Hungarian) had help from Ördög when creating the world. Ördög is often thought to look somewhat like a

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...

faun The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...

, a humanoid with the upper torso of a human male and lower portions of a goat; usually pitch-black, with cloven

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...

, ram-like

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

s, a long tail ending in a blade; and he carries a

pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

. He can also be distinguished by his overly large phallus.Klaniczay, Gábor. 2006. Christian Demonology and Popular Mythology. Central European University Press. He dwells in the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

or hell (''Pokol'' in Hungarian), constantly stirring a huge cauldron filled with souls of those who lived in sin (however, it is uncertain whether the underworld was regarded as place of punishment or not in pre-Christian Hungarian mythology, since the naming of it as Pokol developed after Christianization). Johann Grafen Mailáth: Geschichte der Magyaren, vol. 1, Vienna 1828, p. 26-27. When he does come to earth, according to some legends, he hides in the walls of victims and makes subtle noises that sound high pitched and even squeaky. In other legends, when he comes to earth, he takes the form of a fox, a dark flame or a Hungarian

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

with dark, sparkling eyes. It is his habit to make bets with humans to see if they become corrupted. His long-term goal is to collect more human souls (''lelkek'' in Hungarian).

References

External links

Ördög
MEK, Magyar néprajz, Mitikus lények Hungarian legendary creatures {{Hungary-stub Demons Shapeshifting